The invention is based on a lancet wheel that has the features specified in the preamble of claim 1. A lancet wheel of this type is known from WO 2007/060004 A1.
Lancet wheels of this type can be inserted into a puncturing device as lancet reservoir. The lancets of the lancet wheel are used consecutively in order to generate a puncturing wound in a body of a patient and to obtain a body fluid sample. For the highest possible convenience of use, it is important to ensure that the more or less tedious act of inserting a fresh lancet reservoir into the puncturing device needs to be performed as rarely as possible. This is especially true in the case of diabetics who need to check their blood sugar level several times daily and need to obtain a body fluid sample for this purpose. A lancet reservoir provided in the form of a lancet wheel is advantageous as compared to drum cartridges not only because of its relatively cost-efficient manufacturing, but also because a larger number of lancets can be arranged in a space-saving manner.
In lancet wheels of the type mentioned above, the tips of the lancets are erected prior to a puncture, for example by swiveling them out of the plane of the wheel. In this context, high precision is required in order for the lancet puncture to be associated with little pain. Moreover, erecting the lancet tips should be feasible with as little effort as possible to allow this to be performed in a compact puncturing device.
It is known from WO 2007/060004 A1 to debare kinking regions in a lancet wheel by means of embossing. If the lancet tip of a lancet wheel of this type is swiveled out of the plane of the wheel, the material in the region weakened by embossing yields such that a debared kink is generated. In the known lancet wheel, a force is exerted on the lancet in the region of the lancet tip in order to swivel the lancet tip and for the kinking. However, any contact of a part of the device with the tip of the lancet bears an inherent risk of contamination. Another disadvantage is that a lancet puncture is often experienced as painful by users of the known lancet wheel.